Robert rose from his fainted position, moving at a fast speed as he brandished his daggers, the expression on his face cold as he locked in, leaped towards Mylos. The demon targeted, turned to a confident fool, glaring at him out of the corner of his eyes,

“All fools should die foolish deaths.” Mylos said.

There was a flash of light, and Robert’s body froze, but his head moved on, rolling past Mylos’s face until it smashed into the torn up wall behind him. Tails, pulsating in a strange white light, fired from the darkness, forming into a claw.

“I have held these people hostage.” Mylos turned to Ryan, snapping a finger. As Lisa walked out through the hole in the wall, the building behind her came crumbling down to dust. She stood with a calm expression on her face, her eyes as cold as ice.

“Hold them hostage? Who do you think you are?” he shouted, “By the grace of the Lord himself, I Ryan of the Church of Light, will eliminate your pathetic existence be—”

“I understand you may be confused.” Mylos glanced around, counting eight buildings populated with humans. He turned to the nearest and its residents burst into a frantic run. His lips curled as he stretched his hand, and the building’s ground floor exploded, “But, be considerate.”

He turned to Ryan with a smile, listening to the frightened screams of the humans and the whole building collapsed upon them. Ryan exploded with rage, prepared to rush forth and tear Mylos limb from limb, but the demon lifted his hand, rubbing his thumb and index finger.

“Bastard!” Ryan roared madly.

“It may come as a shock…” Mylos shrugged, turning to the collapsed building, “But a large group is still alive, suffocating under the rubble. It would not take long until they die as well, but we have a choice, to let them die or let them live.”

Judas and Ryan paused. The other humans remained rooted in their positions, too afraid to even blink their eyes. A force so overbearing wore down upon them, and it was difficult to stand under an immense pressure. Some eyes watered, praying and hoping that it would end soon.

“What do you want?” Judas asked, his eyes burning. He gripped tight around the wheel, his foot relaxed before the accelerate pedal, prepared to push forth if things go south. If anything, Judas was sure he’d be fast enough to kill this demon before anyone else was hurt!

“To destroy the church. In the bigger picture — these people, no matter their status, are nothing less than pawns to reach that goal. Their sacrifices would be complemented.” Mylos spoke calmly, an elated gleam in his eyes as he spread out his hands, “Would you stand against me?”

Ryan and Judas fell silent.

“Fools…” Mylos snapped a finger, and all the buildings in the area cracked up, a crooked smile formed on his lips as he narrowed his eyes, forming comical crescents. Judas’s car sped forward a second too early and Mylos stepped backward, the ground before him cracked up.

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The earth caved in, accepting the vehicle as it drove forth. Mylos tilted his head to the side, the gleam in his eyes grew as he spun around, dodging the blade that descended to halve him. Ryan’s eyes flared up, and he pressed down hard on Mylos’s blade.

Mylos, twisted in an exaggerated pose, grinned. Margaret dashed forward to his rescue, kicking Ryan away as Mylos straightened his stance. Aysla withdrew her transformation, tightening her grip on the hammer and stepping forward, appearing right behind Judas’s car.

She lifted the hammer and smashed it on the boot, blowing up the car’s rear end with one hit, a cold gleam in her eyes. Judas spun around and aimed at her, firing with his gun, shattering the glass with the bullet and watching as it blasted into Aysla’s chest, flinging her into the air.

He spun the wheel and slammed on reverse, the tires spinning in the ditch Mylos had created. He frowned after a while, kicking open the door and dashing out and rolling away, dodging a crescent of purplish gold energy that rippled through the earth, cleaving his car in two halves.

Mylos snapped a finger and all the demons on standby rushed Judas. He turned around the next second, swinging his blade and deflecting Ryan’s attack, counterattacking with a sidestepping slash, a fierce light in his eyes as he spun to the side and Madeleine charged ahead.

Ryan deflected her blade, dodging and crossing his blade before his face to block Mylos. Mylos’s eyes shifted to the ground and Ryan caught this, leaping away as the earth beneath him exploded to bits and Madeleine leapt forth with a stabbing thrust.

“Fuck!” Ryan dropped some metres away, his gaze unsteady. He felt his heart clench, panting and heaving as he observed the duo charging at him. He frowned, then dashed forth, his eyes gleaming in a cold light, “Lord, give me strength to defend that which is eternally yours!”

“Your pathetic life? Soon, even that will not be his to claim!” Madeleine roared, exploding with an immense strength, shattering the earth behind her as Ryan was enveloped in a burning golden glow, they swung their blades, and a shortwave ripped the earth around them open.

Judas who was jumped by the other demons, dashed back, casting his massive rifle to the side, pulling out a strange revolver-like gun from within his robes, a golden glow bursting from his soul, consuming the area as he aimed and fired his gun, “With thy strength, I bring exalted ruin!”

The bullets from his gun blew up the demons and Mylos shook, turning around with widened eyes to the trigger happy Judas and watching as his bullets met with the demons, causing Mylos to lose control in that instant. Mylos roared, “Scatter!”

Obeying his command, the demons scattered in various directions as Aysla leapt forward and smashed the blunt end of her stolen hammer into Judas’s side. There was the sound of shattering bones, but Judas remained as still as a mountain, turning to her and aiming with his gun.

Boom!

Mylos watched as Aysla staggered back, her face twisting in pain. The hole left in the side of her neck by the bullet refused to heal, smoking and bleeding profusely as Aysla grabbed the wound, her pupils dilating. Judas had infused holy energy into his bullets!

“Shit!” Mylos shouted, dashing forward and dragging his sword along the ground. Judas turned to him with a mad light in his eyes, and Mylos chuckled, he snapped his finger and halted, vanishing into thin air as the lower floors of all the buildings in the area exploded.

Judas’s eyes widened, dashing to the side and dodging Aysla’s hammer that smashed hard into the ground, sending dust and debris flying. Mylos had appeared in the air, slashing with his blade, a vicious grin on his face, and Judas prepared himself to battle, “You, bastard!”

Screams filled the air as the buildings, already cracked into a deplorable state, crashed down to the ground, one after the other. At that moment, the demons charged forth and attacked Judas for a second time, and Mylos’s landing drew closer, his blade cleaving down upon Judas’s head.